Red Thread
by Nanashima Nanase
Summary: A little story about Suzuya Juuzou falling in love.
1. Chapter 1

Suzuya Juuzou's POV

I sat perched on my chair in front of my computer. Today was my birthday, twenty-two. I stared down at the piece of cake in front of me. It reminded me of Shinohara-san. I frowned remembering all the times he had treated me to meals. My gaze turned to the ceiling. My eyes followed a spider skittering across the white tiles. Where is it going?

"Suzuya, we have a special case coming in. I think you will get along with them quite well." one of my collegues say. I stare at him with wide eyes and a blank expression. "The chief asked me to tell you to meet them down in the lobby in a few minutes." He finishes. I nod once then go back to staring at my piece of cake. "They're here." He says closing his phone. "You should head down too." I pull a napkin over the cake then tilt my head to the cieling looking for the spider once again. Do spiders eat cake? None the less I pick up the plate and pull my keyboard out of it's slide and place my cake on it then tuck it back in. My collegue watches me balance the keyboard on top of my flat screen monitor before I head to the elevator. I shakes his head at me in confusion as the elevators doors close.

"Say, spiders are like ghouls, right?" I ask.

"I guess you could see it that way." He replies.

"Cake ghoul." I whisper, pictureing the spider crawling all over my cake, tearing into it the way a ghoul would flesh. I clench my fist and purse my lips. It better not be on my cake. I look up at the elevator cieling, thinking of the fourth floor where my cake sat unguarded. I should have ate it. Then the doors opend with the chime of a bell.

"Ah Suzuya,just the person I wanted to see." The chief said standing next to a girl who had his long coat drapped over her shoulders. Her hair appeared to be a reddish brown. She kept her face hidden, gaze fixed on the floor. "From this day on, she is your responsibility." He said pushing her forward.

"Mine? Why?" I asked squating down in front of her trying to get a peek at her face. "Don't want." I tell him as she turns away.

"We found her in Big Mama's possession." Upon hearing that name my head snaps up in his diection with a glare on my face.

"Mama's pet?" I ask looking back to her.

"We assume." The chief replies. "Her name is Shinohara, no first name. She was either never given one, or completely forgot it. She doesn't know her birthday either, we guess that she's between the ages of seven-teen and twenty."

"Sh-shinohara?" I stutter, looking at the girl wide-eyed.

"Yeah, no blood relation to your former partner." He says turning to her. "Shinohara-chan, this oni-chan is going to take care of you." He said motioning to me. I watched as she lifted her head to look at me. What I saw suprised me. Her eyes were the same shade of red as mine and just as traumatized. A mask that covered her mouth like a muzzle and a menacing smile behind it's bars "We're assigning her to you because you are the only person who would be able to understand her and what she's been through." I nod listening to him but not taking my eyes off the girl. Dried blood and dirt covered her face and matted her dirty hair. Upon closer inspection, there was really no way to tell what color her hair and skin really was. So many different scents were coming from her that I couldn't pick up her scent.

"I accept." I say now looking at the chief as I stand up straight. "Chi is mine." I tell him, placing my hand on her head.

"Chi? Is that what you're going to call her? It's fitting." He said looking down at all of the blood stains on her.

"Chi needs a bath." I say to him holding out my hand. The chief nodds in agreement then pulls out his wallet and places a small stack of money in my palm.

"That should be enough to get her a few things that she needs. I'll file for assistance when I get to my office." He says then turns to the girl. "Shinohara Chi." He says under his breath before walking away. I watch him closely as he gets into the elevator and disappears behind the doors.

"Chi." She says pointing down to a blood spat on her cheek.

"Chi." I repeat, poking her forhead. "Come with me." I tell her, as a grab her hand to make her follow me. She stumbles forward and the chief's jacket falls from her shoulders. She sits on the floor completely naked, looking at the coat sitting just out of her reach. Her entire body is covered in cuts, sores and burns. Some infected, some not. Two feet of thick chain dangled from the back of her mask. That must have been how Mama had kept her still while she tortured her. I dropped her hand and wrapped the coat around her again, then lifted her up in my arms, each arm supporting her back and legs.

"Is Chi going to play?" She asks looking up at me with a big smile.

"No. Chi is going to bathe. Chi is dirty." I tell her as I carry her to my house. I'm going to have to clean the bath tub. I look down at her and see her feet lightly swinging back and forth as we walk down the street.

"After bathe is Chi going to play?" She asks.

"No. Chi is not going to play that game any more. That game is over. Chi already won." I explain to her. For the first time her smile fades as she looks up at me.

"Chi is bad girl?" She asks.

"No, Chi is..." I pause trying to think of something to tell her. "Chi is new girl. Chi...will never have to play that game again. Chi will play new game with Juuzou." I tell her.

"Juuzou?" She asks. "Juu~zou~." She repeats carrying out the vowels. "Juuzou is new Mama?"

"No, I'm Juuzou." I say, climbing up the stairs to my house.

She studied my face as I set her down on the bathroom floor and pulled out one of my knives. Her face lit up upon seeing the blade as she gasped in happiness, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Do I have enough good girl points?" She asked turning her back to me. I looked at her wide-eyed, remembering Big Mama's point system. She had used it on Chi. My line of sight wandered lower to her back. It was covered in scabbed over cuts and puckered pink scars. "Go! Go!" She urged pulling her long matted rust colored hair over her shoulder. I eyed my blade remembering a time when this would have brought me enjoyment on either end, giving or recieving.

"No. I said we won't play that game." I scream at her in a firm voice as I swing my blade with all my strength. Just as I do she turns her head. Her mask goes flying off revealing a fresh cut on her cheek from my blade. I watch the blood closely as it flows out and drips down her skin. For a moment I'm too shocked to move or say any thing. For a moment I'm taken back to the times when I would frolic in the blood of others. Play with their intestines as if they were mushy toys. Then a memory of Shinohara-san comes to me. How he had saved me those years ago giving me a second chance at life.

"Juuzou?" She asks crawling closer to me. Her voice pulls me back as a single tear falls from the outer corner of my eye. Before I knew it she was hovering over me and I was laying against the floor holding my head. I must have fallen back when I swung my knife. "Juuzou?"

She calls again looking down at me from above. My eyes wander to her face that's drawing closer by the second. Then she does something that catches me completely off guard. Her warm wet tongue travels up my cheek as she licks up my tear. "Juuzou, is this how we play bath game?" She asks laying on the floor next to me. I cover my eyes and smile. I had completely forgoten that she was naked and was supposed to be getting a bath.

"No." I say sitting up. "Go sit on that." I say pointing to a stool. She perches her self on top of it the way I usually sat in my chair at work.

"Like this?" She asks tilting her head back to look at me standing over her.

"Ah." I nod as I grab the shower head and adjust the water temperature. "Hold still." I instruct and I begin to rinse her off and bubble up a body sponge. She watches the foam come out of the sponge in amazement.

"Poison?" She asks keeping her eyes on it.

"No." I shake my head and take her arm, begining to scrub the blood and dirt away from her skin. She gasps looking down at her pale white skin with her mouth hanging open.

"Magic!" She exclaims holding her arm up to show me as a scrub her back and gently as I can, trying not to take any scabs off.

"Yeah. Here, you try." I say handing her the sponge. She takes it from me and begins scrubbing her legs as I grab the shampoo. "Get everywhere." I tell her, messaging shampoo into her hair.

"Magic in hair too?" She asks now looking down at her belly as she spreads bubbles across it.

"Yeah. Magic every where. It will make Chi clean." I explain.

"Clean?" She repeats still scrubbing.

"Uh-huh." The shampoo in her long hair turns the color of rust. I look at it confused then grab the shower head and begin rinsing it out. Once again, to my surprise, her hair is as white as mine with out the blood stains and dirt in it. Chi squeezes the bubbles out of the sponge and rinses it off then rubs it against my arm.

"Juuzou play bath game too? Use magic." She says then looks down at my arm and stops. "Magic isn't working." She pouts. "Was Chi bad girl? Is that why it stopped?" She asks sadly.

"No, Chi was good. Chi used all of the magic up and everythign is clean now. Don't need magic any more." I tell her as I wrap a towel around her and dry her off. "Wear this." I say as I pull the tucked in part of my button up shirt out and unbuttin it, then had it to her. She slowly puts her arms in the sleeves the stands up.

"Like this?" She asks. I roll my eyes and button it for her.

"Like this." I correct. "Now it's time for sleep." I begin to explain. The next minute I turn around and she has her mask back on and is standing right behind me. "You don't need that." I say before slipping my fingers through the wire and try to pull it off.

"It's mine!" She yells and nips at my finger tips. I quickly put my hand back and look at her in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

I close the door to the guest room behind me with a soft click and a sigh. What's her attachment to that mask? It's ugly, it will scare people and make things hard if we go shopping things will be difficult. If they think she's a ghoul then ... No, no. I don't want to think about it right now. I rub my forehead and pull out my clips, letting my hair fall into my face.

"What have I gotten myself into? Just as I began to gain a little of my sanity back, they introduce someone who takes it all away. " I let out another sigh and head to my own room. Dropping my black tank top on the ground, I grab another white button up and pull it on before opening up a sliding door that led from my room to a balcony. The cool night air wrapped around me, ruffling my shirt in the wind. Below I could see the headlights of cars racing by. "It's going to rain." I say, taking in a deep breath through my nose. "Storm." I could feel the electricity in the air prickling at my skin. I turn and head back inside then fall back on my bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I unbuckle my belt and pull it from my waist then drop it on my floor before unbuttoning and unzipping my pants.

A small black dot wanders across my cieling and I shoot up right. "My cake!" I whisper, just now realizing I had left it in my office. "Awh." I whine. " The spider had to have gotten it now." I fall back against my pillow and close my eyes, placing my hand over them. "Damn it."

* * *

My eyes open with a jolt. The roar of thunder pulls me from my slumber. My curtains flap around violently in the wind and rain. I had forgotten to close the door. I let our a growl and try to push myself up but can't. Confused, I pull my blanket up, peeking under it. Chi is hiding under it, trembling, with her arms wrapped around my waist and face pressed against my bare stomach.

"Juuzou." She whimpers. Lightning flashes, revealing the tears sliding down her cheeks that the darkness was hiding. Thunder follows, loud enough to make the walls shake. Her arms fall from around me as she whimpers again, covering her ears. Is this her first time hearing thunder? Maybe this is her first storm. Mama must have kept her in an underground chamber. I pull my blankets back and slip out of bed to close the balcony door then climbed back in bed. I looked at her still trembling as I pulled the blanket back. Is this something that scared normal people too? Should I be scared of it? I thought looking out the glass door as rain pelted it. I laid down pulling the blanket up over both of our heads. Is this how you be scared? Chi sniffled, clearly still shaken by the storm.

"Hmm." I hum then reach for her mask again. This time my fingers pass through the wires and pull it off with out her resisting. Now what? I look at the mask, knowing its obviously something special to her. I slide my hand out from under the blanket and set it on the end table.

"Juuzou, it's scarey. Why is the sky yelling? Was Chi bad?" She cries. How am I supposed to respond to that? Then I feel something warm land on the back of my hand. One of her tears. I place my hand on her cheek and feel that its all wet. I pull up the cuff of my white button up and dry her face then pat her gently on the head.

"Chi... Was not bad. The sky is just sad, so it's crying out to let us know." I tell her. She sniffles again and wraps her arm around me, burrying her face in the nape of my neck.

"Chi stay here? With Juuzou?" She asks, placing her head on my pillow next to mine.

"Only tonight." I say looking into her familiar red eyes. She smiles and closes her eyes, keeping her body firmly pressed against mine. I watch her wide-eyed as her breathing steadys.


	3. Chapter 3

My eyes flew open at the sound of my alarm. It was time to get ready for work and head in. Samething, different day. I thought about sitting up but this time I was completely aware of the pressure against my lower body. I pulled the banket off to see Chi still alseep, drooling on my stomach. I krinkled my nose and poked her in the cheek.

"Chi." I say in a low voice. She whines and rolls over, smearing the drool. I grimace and poke her again. "Chi get up. I have to go to work." Her eyes slowly open.

"Chi go to?" She asks as she sits up and rubs her eyes, still half asleep. I stand up and pause. Do I bring her with me? Am I supposed to? I think about it as I wipe my stomach with a wet wash cloth.

"Umm..." I say. Well, how would I watch her if she don't come with me? I tilt my head as I think. "Yes. Chi has to work too." I tell her, sliding my fingers from button to button as I close my shirt.

"Let's go!" She says happily running to the door.

"Wait!" I yell after her. She freeze where she's at and looks at me over her shoulder. "Come here." I curl my finger, beckoning her closer. She turns around and runs to me. I look down into her face, just inches below mine.

"Juuz-" She begins, but I cut her off by shoving a warm wash cloth in her face and rubbing it around. When I pull it away she looks as if a thousand cameras had just gone off in her face. I couldn't help but to let out a little laugh. "Can we go now?"

Eyeing up my white shirt that she's wearing, I shake my head. "No." I unbutton the top three buttons and push them down her shoulders. "Pull your arms out." I instruct her. She follows my direction, and takes her arms out of the shirt then looks at me for what she's supposed to do next. "Lift your arms." She reaches for the ceiling so I can wrap the arms around to the back, but then I try to button one cuff to the other the shirt just falls to the floor.

"Bath time again?" She asks, peeking at me squatting behind her.

"No. I need to tie this so it don't fall." I explain as if she understood.

"Tie?" She repeats looking around. "Tie!" She exclaims pulling my untied neck tie from around my shoulders and holding it out to me.

"Good girl, Chi." I tell her as she drops it into my hands. I gently pat her on the head then pullthe shirt back up her body to try and make it in to a dress again. Once I get it positioned right, I wrap my neck tie around her waist and tie it into a bow behind her back.

"Pretty." She says in a low voice, tracing the stripes on my tie with her finger.

"Chi." I call out to her. Her head snaps up and her hair falls into her face. She lifts her bangs up to the side trying to look at me. "Now we have to do your hair." I say, studying it. How do you do hair that long. I go to my closet and grab the last of my two ties then return to the bathroom. She watches me closely while I pile her hair in my hands at the top of her head. "Spin in circles." I tell her. She tilts her head confused but listens to what I tell her anyways. Once I have her hair all twisted together, I wrap my other tie around it and let it twist up into a pile. The final result is something tha resembles a bun. I nod in approval and tuck try to tuck in the end of the tie, but fail several times. Fed up with trying to make it stay I take my own hair clip and clip it in place. "Stay." I tell it.

"Chi is pretty!" She marvels, looking at her reflection. I use my remaining clip to pin my bangs to the top of my head, knowing that it was the best I could do with only one clip. Chi gasps looking at my reflection in the mirror then turns around and looks at me.

"Huh?" I ask, peering down at her as I squeeze an excessive amount of tooth past on to my tooth brush. I look down and jump seeing the mountain of toothpaste falling off.

"Juuzou is cute." She says gazing up at me. I jump again turning my attention to her feeling my cheeks get hot. She said I'm cute?

I turn and shove my toothbrush and toothpast mountain into my mouth, trying to pretend I didn't hear her. When I finally tear my eyes off her and look into the mirror, not only is toothpaste foam bubbling around my mouth like I have minty fresh rabies, but my cheeks are pink from her compliment. Am I blushing? I move closer to the mirror to get a better look.

"Magic in mouth?" I hear her ask from behind me.

"Mhmm." I hum, scrubbing my teeth more. I glance at her in the mirror then have to do a double take. She was holding the bar of soap and was about to take a bite out of it. I reach behind me and snatch it out of her hand as I spit the foam into the sink. "Not this magic. This magic is not for mouth. It's only for body." I explain before slurping up water and rinsing. I spit out the water and rinse my toothbrush then realize it's the only one I have. Is it okay to share? I eye it up then look at her. Sharing is nice. I shurg and squeeze more tooth paste onto the brush. "This it magic for mouth. Only for mouth." I explain. "Do not shallow it. It will make you sick." I tell her as I pull her mouth open and begin scrubbing her teeth.

When I finish she giggles and growls at her reflection in the mirror. "Chi is monster." She says before holding her hand up like they are claws and growling at me. I shake my head and wipe her face with the wash cloth again.

"Rinse." I tell her holding water cupped in my hands out to her. She slurps it up and swishes it around.

"Ahhh." She sighs with a smile, wiping her mouth with the back of her arm. I look at her astonished. I did tell her not to swallow it right? "Tingley." She says looking at her teeth in the mirror.

"Hey, Chi. I told you not to swallow that." I say in a firm voice.

"But, Chi was thirsty." She tries to reason. I shake my head and roll my eyes.

"Go put on those slippers." I say pointing to a pair of red house shoes. She bounces out of the bathroom to where I'm pointing as I slip my own shoes on.

"Can we go now?" Chi asks squating down and staring at the door knob.

"Yeah." I say opening the door. As soon as it's open she takes off like a rocket. I stare after her running down the street wide-eyed. Does she even know where to go? I wonder and watch her bolt across the street. Nope. I look to my right and see the weird rope thing thats supposed to hold the curtains open. I grab it and hang it around my neck then go chasing after her. "Chi." I call after her but she runs even faster. I turn down an alley way and pick up my speed planning on cutting her off at the other end. Luckily, everything goes as planed and we collide as I reach the opening. Just as Chi is about to fall in the street in on coming taffic, I grab her arm and pull her agaisnt my chest, wrapping my arms protectively around her. She looks up at me in surprise.

"Juuzou saved Chi?" She asked.

"Chi, that was vey bad." I scolded her, dropping the lasso I had made in the curtain rope around her neck. "Don't ever do that again." I warn shaking my finger as I pull he rope tighter to secure it, while trying to catch my breath.

Chi just smiles up at me. "Chi is sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

I sat perched on my office chair, like I usually sit, staring at my computer screen. I had to throw out what had remained of my cake this morning. It didn't look so good after sitting out all night and there was no telling if the spider had touched it or not.

"Suzuya... What is this?" The chief asked walking into the room. I leaned back, peeking out of my cubicle with a blank expression. That's when I noticed he was looking at Chi.

"Chi." I tell him, sticking my finger in my ear and scratching.

"I know that it's Shinohara-chan. But, what..." He trails off, not knowing how to put it into words. I look down at the girl sitting on the floor, leaned over a piece of paper with a pen, with my curtain rope still around her neck like a leash.

"She ran down the street today while on the way to work." I tell him picking up the end of the rope. Chi gasps and looks up at me.

"Are we going to walk?" She asks sounding hopeful.

"No, you have to finish the paper work." I say pointing to the piece of paper she had scribbled all over.

"Suzuya..." The chief began again. "What is she wearing? Didn't you get her clothes?"

"Chi is pretty!" She snaps at the chief, scooting closer to me. I turn my eyes from her to him and shrug.

"She likes it."

"Well, you've been approved for asistence. Your check should come with in a week. Be sure to get her real clothes." He tells me. I nod and look down at her concenraiting as hard as she could on her piece of paper, the pen in her fist. Then I hear a loud growl. Chi looks up to me with a frown.

"Chi is gurgling." She says touching her stomach. I look down at my watch and see that it's almost lunch time.

"We missed breakfast because Chi ran away." I tell her. She frowns even more.

"Chi is sorry."

"Let's go get lunch." I say picking up the end of her rope and heading for the elevator. She gets to her feet and follows me out into the hallway then stops.

"Wait." She says, tugging on the rope with her hands. I stop, turning to look at her. She whines and tugs harder on the rope making me follow her back to the office. I lean against the door frame and watch her pick up her paper and pen then run back over to me. "Paper work." She smiles. "If work at lunch, I can get done faster and Chi can go home with Juuzou." She holds the paper out to me.

"Hmm?" I hum, taking it from her hand and looking down at it. It was a picture of stick figures, one wearing a leash, while the other held it. Then on the second piece of paper, there was a stick figure hugging the other.

"This is when Juuzou saved Chi." She explained, pointing to it. "This one is when Juuzou walked Chi to work." I nodded looking down at the pictures.

"Good." I said placing my hand on her head and gently rubbing. Her stomach let out a loud growl again and she placed her hands over it as if trying to hide it. I smiled. "Let's go get lunch, Chi."


	5. Chapter 5

When we came back from lunch, the chief was waiting for us. Tapping his foot with hsi arms crossed he looked down at his watch. When we came throught the door and headed for the elevator, he hollered for me.

"Suzuya." I stopped just short of the doors. Chi on the other hand didn't

"Chi." I said tugging on her leash to get her attention as my hand shot out and held the door. When she realized I wasn't in the elevator with her she quickly stepped out.

"Suzuya. Take this, you have the rest of the day off." He said handing me an envelope. "There is a thousand dollars in there. Go get her some decent clothes." He said pointing to the white haired girl standing next to me. I looked over at her trying to figure out what was wrong with her outfit. It covered everything. She liked it. What was the problem?

"From where?" I ask as we are both still looking at her.

"I don't care. Just don't come in tomorrow if she don't have real clothes." He said walking away from us.

"Let's go Chi." I said watching the chief disappear into the elevator.

"Go home now?" She asks looking up at me.

"Nope. Shopping." I tell her as I tug on her leash again. "Let's go."

* * *

Chi followed close behind me into the first store that I saw selling woman's clothes. I looked at everything around me covered in lace and ribbons. What kind of store is this?

"Juuzou! Look! Kitty ears!" Chi said placing something on her head that looked like two rounded ears.

"Chi..." I began, only to get cut off by her straping one to my head.

"Juuzou kitty kitty." She smiled and ran off deeper into the store pulling me with her. This lace jungle was a lot bigger then what it looked it would from the outside. "Ah!" She exclaimed holding up some stringy thing to me. "What is this?" She asked. I took it and held it out, trying to figure it out for myself.

"It's..." I spun it around in my hands then looked around the store for a sign that would tell me. "It's..." I tried still searching as Chi stared up at me waiting for an answer. Just then a young lady that worked there walked up to me. Apparently she over hear our conversation. She took the stringy thing from me and straightened it out then held it up to Chi's hips.

"This is a g-string from Victoria's Secret's Summer collection." She said. "And this." She continued pulling the kitty ears off my head. "Is a bra from the Spring collection." She explained holding it up against Chi's shoulders so it hung over her breasts.

"Hmm." I hummed taking the bra from the lady, hooking the straps around my finger. I looked from the bra in my hand to Chi's chest. Does it fit her? I guess there's only one way to find out. I begin unbuttoning Chi's shirt so I could strap the thing on her.

"Is time for bath game?" She asks as I continue to unbotton the top.

"Sir! You can't do that here!" The lady says turning around just as the make-shift dress falls from Chi's body. Both Chi and I look at the lady confused.

"How will I know if it fits? I can't buy it if it doesn't." I tell her. She should know this.

"Sir, I understand your her boyfriend and you're very much in love, yes, I've heard it all before. But, I cannot allow you to do such a thing in a place like this."

"Uhh, that's..."

"Boyfriend? Juuzou is Chi's boyfriend?" Chi asks confused but smiling. "What's a Bofriend?" She finally asks.

"No." I say firmly and push the bra and leash into the shop lady's hands. "Then you do it." I say before walking to the front of the store.

"Juuzou! Juuzou leave Chi?" The girl asks sadly as she tries to follow after me.

"Chi." I say stopping her in her tracks. "Stay." I tell her before exiting the store. The lady looks from Chi to me in bewilderment.

"Let's get you some clothes." She says with a smile, apprehensivly looking down at the curtain rope leash. The lady reaches to remove it from Chi's neck but the girl grabs it protectively.

"Chi has to keep this." She tell's the lady. "Juuzou saved Chi and gave Chi leash so Chi don't get hurt." She said pulling the pictures she drew out of the shirt pocket and showing them to the lady. "See? Juuzou not bad. Juuzou was helping Chi when he opened Chi's dress." The lady looked down at the pictures and smiled. "Because of Chi, Juuzou can't go to work. Juuzou's boss said don't come back until Chi has real clothes." Chi tells the lady with a frown. The lady continues to listen to the girl as she traces the stripes on the tie again. "Juuzou made this dress for Chi. This is Juuzou's tie. And this is Juuzou clip." Chi says pointing to the clip in her hair. "Last night, the sky cried and the clouds roared. It scared Chi. But not Juuzou. He let Chi sleep in his bed and he protected Chi the whole night."

"You really like Juuzou, don't you?" The lady asks handing Chi her drawings back.

"Yesterday, Chi didn't have a name, or clothes, or home. Chi was dirty and..." Chi fell silent and lifted up her hair and pulled off one of the giant gauze pads covering her upper back showing the lady all of the sores and cuts on her back. "Juuzou gave Chi a name and clothes. And a home with a bed. Juuzou even gave Chi a bath and made them better." Chi finishes and sticks the tape back to her skin. "Now Juuzou is mad at Chi."

The woman looked down at the girl before her, now understanding that the man is the girls caretaker. "Let's get you some pretty clothes. Then Juuzou can go back to work and he will be happy again."

"You'll help Chi?" The lady nodded at the girls words and slipped to the back of the store where the dressing rooms were.

* * *

What's taking so long? Did it not fit? Are they having trouble finding another one? Should I go back inside? I hope Chi didn't bite the lady. My last thought catches me off guard. I remember how Chi almost bit my fingers when I tried to take her mask off. I quickly turn around to ruch back into the store when Chi comes out with a few backs in her hands and a new outfit on. The lady hands me the leash, envelope and four bags.

"She has nine outfits in there. Your change is in the envelope." She says looking at Chi then turning her attention to the ground. "If you ever need any help with things like this again, here is my phone number. Call me if you need help." She says handing me a small business card. I look down at it and see her name. Fujiwari Yura. "Good bye Chi." She says waving to the girl and walking back into the store. I tuck the card into my shirt pocket and tug on Chi's leash to get her attention.

"Juuzou can go back to work now. Juuzou not mad at Chi any more?" She asks finally urning to me.

"I wasn't mad. I just couldn't help you." I tell her, looking down into her red eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chi and I walked through a park on our way back home. We were almost to the other end of it when something caught her eye and caused her to stop walking. "Ghouls" She said looking at a couple sitting on a park bench making out.

"How do you know they are ghouls?" I ask, interested in her comment.

"They are trying to eat each other." She says turning and looking at me like it was a dumb question.

"Chi." I sighed, trying to think of the best way to explain this to her. "They aren't trying to eat each other. They are making out."

"Making out?" She asks in the form of a question. I roll my eyes realizing I would have to be more detailed.

"Kissing." I simplify.

"What's that?" She asks looking up at me.

"When someone loves another person, they kiss to express their love." I explain.

"Oh. Why?" She asks. Her question makes me jump a little. Now how will I explain this?

"Because." I simply answer.

"Because why?" She asks again, digging for a real answer. "Do you love someone Juuzou? Did you kiss before?" She fires off. Just then I see another couple walk by eating ice cream. When I see the cones in their hands I begin to look around, knowing I had just found my way out of this situation.

"Chi, do you want some ice cream?" I ask her, leading her in the direction of the cart.

"Ice cream?" She asks. Once again, I mentally smack myself for not remembering that she basically knows nothing about anything. She can barely talk.

"Come over here." I tell her as we approach the Ice cream cart.

"What can I get for you?" The man asks. Chi grabs my arm and stand close to me, skeptical of the man in front of us.

"Two Strawberry ice cream cones." I tell him as I hand the money over, glancing down at Chi.

"Here you are." The man says passing me two cones of Strawberry ice cream.

We walk over to a park bench and sit down. I hand her the ice cream cone I had bought for her and lick my own. She looks up at me with an expression that says 'What do I do with it?' "Eat it. It's food." I explain licking my ice cream again. She opens her mouth real wide and takes a big bite out of if. Her eyes open wide and she spits it back out, then look at me like I tried to poison her. "You're not supoosed to bite it." I tell her, kneeling down in front of her. "Just lick it or you'll hurt yout teeth." I pull out both napkins the man had given me and begin to wipe the ice cream from the front of her dress.

"Yummy." She smiles pressing her tongue to the ice cream, mimicking the way I had been eating it. I look up to smile at her from my squating position then I see melted ice cream driping down her hands and fingers. Both napkins sat dirty on the bench next to her. I take her ice cream from her and place it in her opposite hand, she pays me no attention when I do. Bringing her finger tips to my lips, I slide them into my mouth one by one, licking the ice cream from her skin. Once they are clean, I lick her palm. I don't realize that I'm enjoying licking the creamy liquid from her skin more than I did licking it from the cone until I hear her let out a giggle. "Juuzou, that made right here go boom boom." She says placing her hand against her chest. I blush and look away from her, trying to ignore the fact that I knew what that meant and she didn't.

"Chi." I say about to tell her that she shouldn't express things like that so freely, but then I feel her warm tongue against my cheek.

"Juuzou had ice cream on his face." She smiles. I feel my cheeks get hotter and look away for the second time.


	7. Chapter 7

I I sat at the computer, trying to get some of the paperwork done that I wasn't able to get done at the office. Chi sat on the couch flipping from channel to channel after discovering the remote to the t.v. She seemed completely captivated by it as my fingers tapped away on the keyboard. I took my eyes off her once again and concentraited on the screen in front of me. It was the least I could do to keep from falling behind on my work. Then Chi suddenly pushed her way between me and the computer, taking a seat in my lap. I looked down at the back of her head. At the few loose locks of hair that fell from her bun, laying against her neck. At the healing cuts and pink scars that peeked above the neckline of the back of her shirt. Something stirred in me. I tore my eyes from the girl in my lap.

"Chi...What are you doing?" I ask, looking back at the computer screen.

"What are you doing?" She asks, completely ignoring my question.

"Paperwork." I say, giving her a single word answer. The scent of her hair fills my nose and my gaze travels back to her where it lingers on her shoulders. Then she tilts her head back to look at me behind her. I quickly avert my gaze.

"Juuzou, why did that man call you Suzuya?" She asks, keeping her eyes locked on me.

"Because Suzuya is my family name." I tell her, leaning back in my chair to put a little bit more space between us.

"Family name?" She repeats.

"Yes, and your's is Shinohara." She looks away from me, fixing her gaze on the screen in front of us. The longer she is close to me, the more rapidly my heart beats. I quickly stand up, causing her to fall on the floor, just as I felt like my chest was about to be ripped open. Running my fingers through my hair, I lean against the wall. What is going on with me? She's just a girl, mentally a child. My eyes wander back over to her, spinning my chair around and around from the floor where she sat. From her face, down to her colar bones. For the first time the roundness of her breasts catch my attention. My focus sneaks lower, over the curves of her waist and hips, then stopping on appley shape of her butt as she pushed herself up onto her feet. I cover my eyes with my hand. What am I doing? My fingers separate, letting me steal one last glace. I need some fresh air. "Chi, it's time for bed." I tell her as I head to my own room, only to stop when I feel her right on my heels. I turn around and face her with my hand on the door knob behind my back.

"Chi sleep with Juuzou." She says trying to look at the door knob behind me.

"No, tonight Chi has to sleep in her own room." I tell her then quickly slip in to my room,close the door behind me. When I see her shadow disappear from under the door, I make a mad dash for the balcony. The cold night air wraps around my body, releaving me from the burning sensations she had left me with.

"Good night, Juuzou." I hear her yell, seeing her shadow disappear from under the door for a second time. I lean against the sliding glass door and slide down it.

"I'm in trouble." I whisper, banging the back of my head against it once. In a way I feel guilty looking at her the way I had. But...At the same time... No, no. What am I thinking? I just need to ignore things like that. I just have to make sure to keep my distance.

* * *

The next morning I woke up to my phone ringing. It was the chief. He had called to tell me that I didn't need to come in today. He wanted Chi to have time to adjust to her new home. That wasn't the only surprise I had awoken to. I looked down at her laying against my shoulder with one arm resting against my chest, her hand right over my heart. Keeping my distance is going to be a lot harder than I thought. I lift her wrist up with my index finger and thumb then slip carefully out from under her. As I pull a clean shirt on over my shoulders, I look over in her direction. I feel heat rush to my cheeks when I see her night gown all bunched up around her ribs and her ass exposed. She's wearing those? Those...What did that lady call them? G-string? I cover my eyes, trying not to let my body and mind give into tempations, and toss a blanket over her. After seeing her completely naked and not being phased by it, I go to this. A blushing idiot at the slightest exposure of her skin. I shake my head at the weirdo I had become and take a seat on the couch. Maybe a little t.v will help clear my head. Then I hear my bedroom door open.

"Juuzou." She whines, rubbing her eyes as the thin straps of her gown slide down her shoulders. "It hurts."

Upon hearing that she's in pain, my eyes grow wide and my chest tightens. "Where?" I ask, feeling more worried by the second.

"Here." She says, turning around and lifting her long white hair up. The back of her gown is soaked in blood. My heart skips a beat and I jump to be feet, grabbing the first aid kit. I gently push the other strap down her shoulder and look at her blood stained skin. Some of the infected cuts had swollen up and opened.

I sit back down on the couch and have her lay across my lap. "Be still." I tell her in a low voice. "I have to clean this up and re-bandage it." I hear her hiss a few time while I blot up the blood.

"Juuzou, why did you name Chi, Chi?" She asks, wrapping her fingers around my knee and squeezing as another wave of pain ripples through her.

"Because Chi was covered in blood. Chi means blood." I tell her, as I dab anti-biotic ointment on to her cuts.

"Chi doesn't like Shinohara." She whisperes. "Chi likes Suzuya." I freeze for a moment. Her words catching me off gaurd as taped clean gauze to her skin. "Can Chi be Suzuya?" She asks. I new as well as anyone else that the only way she would be a Suzuya is if we got married. There is no way that that's going to happen.

"No. Chi has to be Shinohara. Shinohara was the name of someone very special to me." I explain. She looks up to me with a smile and wraps her arms around my sholders while resting her head against my chest.

"Juuzou is special to Chi." She says, snuggling into the side of my neck with her nose. Reluctantly, I tilt my head to the side, just enough for my cheek to rest against the top of her head. This is hopeless. I can't avoid her.


	8. Chapter 8

I awoke hours later laying on the couch with Chi completely on top of me. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. One of my arms was wrapped around the girl on top of me, the other lay across my forehead blocking the light from getting in my eyes.

"What are you doing to me, Chi?" I whisper looking down at her sleeping face. Her eyebrows knit together as if she was having a nightmare. With out thinking I reached up and pushed her hair from her face. The moment my skin touched hers, the grief on her face eased.

"Ch- ch." She started, as if she wanted to say something. I watched her lips, waiting to hear what she was dreaming about. "Juu...Juu...zou..." Her face contorted again. "D-don't leave." Tears slowly fell from her closed eyes. She was dreaming about me? Her hands closed into a fist, grasping the loose material of my shirt. I sat there, stunned by the fact she asked me not to leave. What kind of pain was I causing her in her dream? How to I make it stop? How can I comfort her to ease it?

"Chi, listen to me." I say, talking to her while she slept. "I'm not going anywhere. You can stay with me as long as you want." I whisper to her. Her brows unfurrow as she hears my voice.

"Chi... stay... with Juuzou forever." She replies. A smile toys at the corner of my lips, knowing she wont remember any of this when she wakes up. Suddenly, her eyes open. After blinking a few times she realizes her eyelashes are wet and her cheeks are damp. I watch her reach up and touch her face. She then looks to me and smiles. "Juuzou." She whispers sleepily. Laying her head back down on my chest, and nuzzling her face into my shirt, she yawns. I could feel my pulse quicken from her actions. I couldn't deny it. She was cute. The way she looked. The things she did. All of it was cute. Her stomach gurgled and she froze, hiding her face in my shirt as it turned red in embarrassment. I smile seeing her find something so normal embarrassing.

"Chi, let's go get something to eat." I tell her. I can feel her smile against my chest right before she jumps up and runs to the kitchen. "Where is she going?" I ask myself watching her disappear through the door way. She returns with her arms full of cup noddles and spills them on the floor in front of me.

"Eat." She smiles pushing the pile to me.

"Chi, that's not exactly what I meant. I don't know how to cook, but I do know we can't just live off of eating cup noddles." I say to her. She looks up at me, not understanding a thing I said.

"Cook..." She says bringing her finger to her lower lip as she tried to figure out what it meant. Then as somethign came to her, she picked up one of the noodle cups and spun it around to the back side. She held it up to me, pointing to the nutritional facts. I smiled as my eyes landed on the cooking instructions right below it. "Cook." She says looking up at me with big red eyes.

"Ah." I nod letting her know she's right. "Cook." I repeat.


End file.
